Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business.

Monster Hunter Legion: Monster Hunter, Book 4

When hunters from around the world gather in Las Vegas for a conference, a creature left over from a World War Two weapons experiment wakes up and goes on a rampage across the desert. A not-so-friendly wager between the rival companies turns into a race to see who can bag the mysterious creature first. Only there is far more to this particular case than meets the eye, and as Hunters fall prey to their worst nightmares, Owen Zastava Pitt and the staff of Monster Hunter International have to stop an ancient god from turning Sin City into a literal hell on earth.

Monster Hunter Vendetta

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old Ones' invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

Monster Hunter Nemesis

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts - parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He's nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself. Good thing he’s on our side. More or less.

Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles

Jake Sullivan is a licensed private eye with a seriously hardboiled attitude. He also possesses raw magical talent and the ability to make objects in his vicinity light as a feather or as heavy as depleted uranium, all with a magical thought. It's no wonder the G-men turn to Jake when they need someoneto go after a suspected killer who has been knocking off banks in a magic-enhanced crime spree.

Warbound: Book III of the Grimnoir Chronicles

Only a handful of people in the world know that mankind's magic comes from a living creature, and it is a refugee from another universe. The Power showed up here in the 1850s because it was running from something. Now it is 1933, and the Power's hiding place has been discovered by a killer. It is a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Earth is next. Former private eye Jake Sullivan knows the score. The problem is, hardly anyone believes him.

Spellbound: Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles

Dark fantasy goes hardboiled in Book II of the hard-hitting Grimnoir Chronicles by the New York Times best-selling creator of Monster Hunter International. The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so—successfully and in secret—since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir.

Tokyo Raider: A Tale of the Grimnoir Chronicles

With the Japanese Imperium at war with the Soviet Union, and the United States watching cautiously on the sidelines, Second Lieutenant Joe Sullivan of the U.S. Marines is sent on a dangerous mission to Tokyo. The Russians have Summoned a demon of epic proportions to attack the city, and all that stands in its deadly path is an untested Japanese super-robot. Now, Joe is at the controls, his gravity-spiking Power at the ready. But that is one huge, mean Demon....

Dead Six

Michael Valentine, veteran and former member of an elite private military company, has been recruited by the government to conduct a secret counter-terror operation in the Persian Gulf nation of Zubara. The unit is called Dead Six. Their mission is to take the fight to the enemy and not get caught. Lorenzo, assassin and thief extraordinaire, is being blackmailed by the world's most vicious crime lord. His team has to infiltrate the Zubaran terrorist network and pull off an impossible heist or his family will die.

Swords of Exodus: Dead Six, Book 2

On the far side of the world, deep in former Soviet Central Asia, lies a stronghold called the Crossroads. It is run with an iron fist by a brutal warlord calling himself Sala Jihan. He is far more than a petty dictator, for Jihan holds the fate of nations in his grasp. To save a world slipping into chaos, Jihan must either fall or be controlled.

Doug D. Eigsti says:"....Valentine and Lorenzo Battle at the Crossroads"

Working for Bigfoot

Chicago wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden is used to mysterious clients with long hair and legs up to here. But when it turns out the long hair covers every square inch of his latest client's body, and the legs contribute to a nine-foot height, even the redoubtable detective realizes he's treading new ground. Strength of a River in His Shoulders is one of the legendary forest people, a bigfoot, and he has a problem that only Harry can solve. His son, Irwin, is a scion, the child of a supernatural creature and a human.

A Plain-Dealing Villain: Daniel Faust Volume 4

It's hard to make a dishonest buck in Sin City, especially when a rogue FBI agent is gunning for your head. Flat broke and one step ahead of the law, Daniel Faust flees Vegas and lands in Chicago, where a risky heist promises to fill his pockets with cash.

Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files

When an unknown someone shoots him and leaves him to die, Harry Dresden hopes he might be heading to a better place. Unfortunately being dead doesn't make Harry's life any easier. Trapped between life and death, he learns that his friends are in serious trouble. Only by finding his murderer can he save his friends and move on - a feat that would be a lot easier if he had a body and access to his powers. Worse still are the malevolent shadows that roam Chicago, controlled by a dark entity that wants Harry to suffer even in death.

Perfect State

God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys. He has defeated all foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world. Except for today. Today Kai has to go on a date. Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal - a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has.

Into the Storm

A knight of Cygnar follows a strict moral code. His integrity is beyond reproach. He holds himself to the highest standards whether dealing with friend or foe. And he values honor above all. The year is 606 AR, and Cygnar has been sorely pressed by its enemies both at home and abroad. In Caspia, the conflict with the Protectorate is about to erupt into full war with the looming invasion of Sul. The Cygnaran military is desperate for soldiers with the skill, strength, and bravery to take up the devastating galvanic weaponry of the new Storm Division.

Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy

Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist. Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn't need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person's locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.

Featuring A Prelude to War, an Iron Druid novella. After an old friend is murdered in retaliation for his mercenary strikes against the oldest vampires in the world, Atticus O'Sullivan must solicit the aid of another old friend in Ethiopia if he's going to have a chance of finishing a war he never wanted. Meanwhile Granuaile MacTiernan starts a private war of her own against Loki, the lord of lies, and if it brings Ragnarok early - so be it.

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters is a collection of 23 stories focused around the theme of strange creatures in the vein of Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Cloverfield, and more. The anthology opens with a foreword by Jeremy Robinson, author of Project Nemesis, the highest selling Kaiju novel in the United States since the old Godzilla books - and perhaps even more than those. Then, from New York Times best sellers to indie darlings Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters features authors that are perfectly suited for writing larger-than-life stories.

Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old - when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer. Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries....

Hard Luck Hank: Prince of Suck

An increasingly crippled Hank struggles to keep the various factions of Belvaille in check after the collapse of the Colmarian Confederation. Hank, as Supreme Kommilaire and Secretary of City, has several hundred police to try to maintain order among the millions of inhabitants on the space station while simultaneously preparing for Belvaille's first ever election.

Hard Luck Hank: Basketful of Crap, Book 2

Hank was a dying breed on the space station Belvaille. The criminal gangs that had once made their homes there were forced out by the corporations that had taken over since the facility became an Independent Protectorate. Instead of the gentlemanly gang wars that had once dominated the scene, and made Hank's services prized as a negotiator, the city was now plagued by the clash of corporate armies using heavy weapons. Even tanks roamed the streets regularly.

Hammered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 3

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully - he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona....

Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 2

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II. With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt.

Publisher's Summary

Dirty Harry meets Twilight. Number 3 in the break-out series and a follow-up to Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta.

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger's stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.

I strongly recommend this book. I really enjoyed the first two in this series, but this one really caught me by surprise. Once I realized where this book was headed, it had two strikes against it. It didn't involve the Monster Hunter International team, and it was a werewolf story. Earl was not one of my favorite characters, and I have no interest in werewolf stories.

But it turned out to be such an great story, expertly told, I couldn't stop listening. I even found myself cheering out loud near the end.

The narrator is a good choice and has done a good job with this series. I don't know if he was intentionally doing a "Christopher Walken" voice for Nikolai, but that voice cracked me up.

The primary protagonist in this narrative is Earl Harbinger, the director –werewolf (with special status from the Monster Control Bureau) of Monster Hunter International. The plot is original; the backstory is fascinating and gives us the genesis of who Earl is and how he came to be. Earl's history is told through entries in a journal that he writes. This is a clear demarcation from the present action in which the narrative lives. It also gives a breadth and depth to Earl’s character that we have not seen previously. When Earl meets Heather, a New, [Werewolf], Turn and also the law enforcement officer of the Michigan town in which Earl finds himself, the seeds of love are sewn. However, this is not to be, at least, not yet, if the government has its say. There’s a shadow agency that is calling the shots with more power than the Monster Control Bureau.

Once again, MHI stands at the crossroads between total annihilation of the world as we know it and the continuance of life as we know it. Ghosts of the KGB and magically enhanced Mega Evil Werewolves, as well as the Monster Control Bureau serve the side of annihilation. Also, as in many of Correia’s books there is a shadow of Lovecraft that permeates the atmosphere of Monster Hunter Alpha.

Monster Hunter Alpha is fast paced, with heart-pounding, hold your breath moments. If you have met Earl previously, then you are ecstatic that Heather has come on the scene. She gives Earl and [we-the reader] hope for more happiness in Earl’s future. Earl is an avatar of strength, practicality, loyalty, and down to earth fairness and he has struggled with the loneliness and hardship of life for too long. In order to prevail, Earl must confront his fears and his own personal demons and the Mega demons that reside in Monster Hunter Alpha.

Monster Hunter Alpha is plotted well and a brilliantly ingenious read.

I just finished Monster Hunter Alpha. Larry Correia Just keeps getting Better. His first Monster Hunter Book was Good but every book he writes seems twice as good as the last. Larry writes Characters you care about Not 2 Dimensional paper cut outs. Not saying he is not Corney or cliche But very entertaining
and fun. I can't wait for the next installment.

The first two books, Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta, focused on Owen Zastava Pitt (Big Z), who was recruited by MHI after killing his boss who had turned into a werewolf. If you haven’t read those books, stop right now and go order them. Don’t read any further because this review will contain some spoilers for the previous books.

This third book, Monster Hunter Alpha, is Earl Harbinger’s story. Earl is the leader of MHI (which you’re supposed to know if you’re still reading this). Readers who’ve read the previous books also know that he’s a 200-year-old werewolf with a memory-eating worm in his brain. He’s writing a journal so he can get his memories on paper before they’re gone. Not long after the events in book 2, Earl gets a visit from an old acquaintance who warns him that there are some strange happenings in Copper Lake, Michigan and it sounds like Earl’s old nemesis, a KGB werewolf named Nikolai (“Stalin’s favorite werewolf”), may be responsible. Since Earl is the most powerful werewolf in the United States (and probably the world), he needs to go take care of it before Nikolai starts an epidemic. But Earl isn’t the only one who wants to take down the Russian werewolf. There’s an unscrupulous start-up freelance monster-killer who wants in on the action so he can collect the bounty, and there’s a corrupt government bureaucrat who’s got his own agenda. They are going to cause a lot of trouble.

Thus, confusion, chaos and carnage descend on Copper Lake. Communication has been cut off so they can’t get help from the outside. Fortunately Copper Lake has a courageous and dutiful (and pretty) police deputy, and the locals, who’ve taken full advantage of their Second Amendment rights, are willing to fight back. (“Wake up your family and get your guns!”) Earl picks up a couple of other unexpected allies, too. When Earl and his partners finally figure out what’s really going on they realize that it’s a lot more sinister than just an alpha werewolf trying to move into Earl’s territory. It’s related to what happened to MHI in the previous novels and what’s going to happen in future novels, and it has far-reaching consequences for the whole world.

Like the previous MONSTER HUNTER books, Monster Hunter Alpha is heart-poundingly scary, but Correia, as usual, provides some comic relief. This installment, like the others, has excellent character development and is beautifully plotted. The Copper Lake story moves the entire series forward while also helping (along with Earl’s journal entries) to fill in the historical and psychological background on Earl and some more history of Monster Hunter International. Very nicely done.

I didn’t like Monster Hunter Alpha as well as I liked the previous books for two reasons. First, WE NEVER SEE BIG Z! That was more than a little disappointing, which makes me suspect that I may have a crush on him…. I’ll think about that later. I also missed Agent Franks. Maybe I have a crush on him, too… The other reason, and this is the main reason, is that Monster Hunter Alpha is disgustingly gruesome. There’s lots of blood and guts and splattering brains. In fact, Monster Hunter Alpha is so grisly that it feels like a hack ‘n’ slash horror movie or a survival horror video game. I had nightmares after I finished it.

Readers who love Earl Harbinger and don’t mind the gore will be very pleased with Monster Hunter Alpha. As for me, I can’t wait to get back to Big Z and Agent Franks in Monster Hunter Legion!

I have a little bit of a crush on Earl Harbinger. The story held me and kept me engaged. This is actually no small thing considering that I don't really enjoy all the blood and guts aspects of this sort of story but so far Correia has paced it enough and made the characters interesting enough that I don't mind the rest.

I wish the ending had been a little different but it made sense, unfortunately.

Would you consider the audio edition of Monster Hunter Alpha to be better than the print version?

Have not read the print version. Unknown.

Any additional comments?

Be aware: If you have listened to the first two books, this does not follow the same vein. The main character is NOT Owen Pitt, as the book explains in the first chapter. The book is great, still has the same pulp fiction, laid back feel that makes for such an easy read, but do not be surprised that this book is about Earl, and jumps between the MHI history and "present day". I loved this book, but thought it was a 3rd in the series...it isn't..quite.

Loved this book even without Owen . characters are great and Earl is a BADASS Oliver Wyman did an awesome job narrating -even though I thought Nicolie sounded alot like a poor christpher Walken imperetion- that just made it better lmao . Cant wait for next book and for Jason and Pit to meet <.< Thank Larry thanks Oliver and most of all thanks too EARL

I feel that this book is the weakest in the series so far, and to stretch into a whole book something that could have been a short story, and rather like other series (like the Dresden Files or Iron Druid) that have a book of side stories, it could have been a compendium - this story just felt dragged out, and overly long, covering things that just didn't need to be there

This is a complete departure from the formula that made the first 2 books so enjoyable, with only one member of MHI, although the oldest & strongest, and being used to introduce new members of the company & upcoming important cast

Certain parts of the story were rather obvious, and telegraphed chapters before they happened, but without Oliver Wyman's reading this would have been nowhere near as enjoyable

If this wasn't "required reading" for the next book, I'd suggest skipping this one, but you need to know several things that happen in this story, several characters, and what happens along the way, or parts of the following book kind of makes no sense

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

GMJ

East Yorkshire, UK

2/10/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Best so far!"

More than exceeded my expectations. I can only hope that there will be another novel where Earl is the lead character. Wow!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mr

SCARBOROUGH, United Kingdom

7/29/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"BRILLIANT"

Yet another "Monster Hunter" great by Larry Correia with brilliant narration by Oliver Wyman. Best if you've heard the previous books but not essential.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.